AUTHORS: Päivi Merilä and Sakari Sarkkola, Natural Resources Institute Finland
One of the major obstacles for the extension of paludiculture resembles the classic chicken-and-egg dilemma. The farmers and landowners are not interested in plant production on rewetted peatlands as long as there is no consistent and profitable demand for the biomass produced. On the other hand,
a solid supply of raw materials is a foremost prerequisite for investors and industry to start developing new products and technologies.
How to overcome this challenge?
Targeted support is advisable
Theoretically, the paludiculture markets could develop spontaneously, as industrial demand for sustainably produced raw materials increases and novel biomass types are needed to replace fossil raw materials with renewable ones. In practice, targeted support and incentives are needed to speed up the process.
The recently adopted Nature Restoration Law (Regulation EU 2024/1991) mandates the rewetting of 15% of drained peatlands currently in agricultural use by 2050, and paludiculture is included in the measures fulfilling the criteria for rewetting. Supporting development of paludiculture value chains both in implementation of the Nature Restoration Law and agricultural policies would potentially play an important role for scaling up paludiculture in the EU.
However, contribution of R&D in industries is likewise necessary.
Paludiculture value chains often support food production
In PaluWise, our overarching goal is to enhance the technical readiness of existing value chains and establish innovative new ones. Our focus is in Typha-textile, Reed-thatching, Birch-biochar and Sedge-boards value chains. Although these value chains do not directly contribute to food production, they facilitate productive use of rewetted peatlands, which would otherwise become excluded from production activities.
Moreover, reed crops may satisfy the great demand for substitutes of peat products used in food production, for example as growing substrates in horticulture and as bedding material in animal husbandry. Livestock farms also producing paludiculture biomass may thus consume the produced material themselves, that in turn would reduce challenges related to marketing and price pressures of these products.
Our conclusion
Together with stakeholders, PaluWise is committed to developing robust value chains around promising wetland crops: Downy Birch, Reed, Sedges, Typha, and Reed Canary Grass. By transforming rewetted peatlands into productive landscapes, we aim to create sustainable opportunities for farmers, industries, and ecosystems alike. This approach not only strengthens climate resilience and biodiversity but also enhances economic viability.
It’s a part of solving paludiculture hen-and-egg problem, right? 
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